The Heber Valley Railroad is working to restore and display a vintage Rio Grande sign that once stood upon the Rio Grande Depot in Salt Lake City before it was replaced a little over a decade ago.

The railroad wants to display it atop a planned extension for its shop building.

But, as Mark Nelson told the Heber City Council this week, the railroad first needs the city’s sign-off to display a sign that doesn’t necessarily fit the city’s ordinances.

He showed the council members a photo of the 114-year-old Rio Grande Depot in Salt Lake City and directed their attention to the illuminated “Rio Grande” sign atop the structure.

“The sign you see lit up here is the 75-year-old Young Electric Sign Company neon sign which they built way back in the ’40s or ’50s,” Nelson said. “About five years ago, they had Young Electric Sign Company build a new sign for them, and they took that sign down.”

He said the Heber Valley Railroad asked them for the old, now-replaced fixture, and he showed a photo of the sign hanging on the side of a storage building.

“We have had many meetings with a lot of individuals, but primarily Young Electric Sign Company and have signed an agreement with them to have them restore the sign, to remove the neon, to restore all the sheet metal that is bent and worn and to rebuild the sign with a new structure, and with LED lights that can be controlled the way LED lights do now,” Nelson explained.

He showed depictions of what the restored sign could look like sitting atop the Heber Valley Railroad’s shop building for someone standing on 600 West.

Then came his request to Heber City.

“I’ve met with (Planning Director) Tony Kohler and started at least the conversation and wanted to come here and ask Heber City to consider a conditional use permit or whatever might be required so that we could someday show the sign,” Nelson said. “I think we will have the construction of the letters, the restoration of the letters, done this year before the end of the year, but the coach storage building won’t be done this year or next year. And so I’m not sure about the when.”

The Heber Valley Railroad, he added, doesn’t intend to light the bright letters against Heber City’s sky every night, but rather on special occasions.

“It’s a very cool historic sign, and I remind everyone that these tracks are Rio Grande tracks,” Nelson said. “These tracks were built by the Rio Grande Railroad in 1899.” 

Beyond the tracks the tourist trains run on, Nelson said the company is connected with its Rio Grande roots through the paint jobs on its cars.

The company’s closed-window streamline cars sport a bumble bee paint scheme Rio Grande used in 1949, and its other Pullman green cars reflect what Rio Grande and many other railroads used in the ’20s and ’30s.

“We have several Rio Grande cars that we already own. We have a Rio Grande diesel,” Nelson said. 

The project will cost $100,000. So far, the Heber Valley Railroad has received a grant from the Utah Department of Transportation for about a fifth of that.  

Ostergaard was slightly concerned that the council’s decision to allow the sign could set precedence contrary to the city’s current ordinance, but Funk assured him the city could approve the sign through a legislative agreement to make sure that wouldn’t happen.

Nelson also informed the councilors that the railway is looking to begin extending a platform near the southwest corner of the crossing of 600 West and 300 South by the railroad station so it will stretch all the way to the intersection. While he didn’t believe he needed any permits or permissions from Heber City for the project, he did say it would be helpful if the company was able to also build a switch in the area with a track that would cross 300 South.

Nelson said had several conversations with representatives from local governments about the project. So far his search hasn’t shown who definitively owns the specific land and right-of-ways the project will use.

“Would we have to do — and this may be a question for (city engineer Russel Funk) — any signage, blinking lights saying train and stuff like that?” Councilor Sid Ostergaard asked.

Funk said there would definitely at least need to be signs. 

Heber City Mayor Heidi Franco said she thought the project would be a good opportunity to support the railroad.

“I think it’s fine as long as it’s not a parking place for old box cars,” Councilor Mike Johnston said. 

Nelson assured him the track wouldn’t be.

The railroad plays a significant role in bringing tourists to Heber Valley. According to Nelson, it carried about 135,000 passengers on 545 trains just last year.

The post Heber Valley Railroad pitches idea to install vintage Rio Grande sign appeared first on Park Record.

Heber City Manager Matt Brower walked out of Tuesday’s City Council meeting a little richer, thanks to an $11,000 bump to his own base pay, and the raises he had gotten from the elected officials for his team as well.

According to council members reflecting on his performance and considering what his salary was in comparison to what surrounding cities are paying their managers, Brower’s earned the increase.

Sherie Ashe, Heber City’s human resources manager, explained how her department was recently asked to look at earning data regarding all Heber City employees.

Though the results are not all ready for everybody, she did have results for Brower’s position.

“An organization called Wasatch Comp Group surveyed 16 different entities that included Wasatch County, Park City, Millcreek, Summit County, Orem, Cottonwood Heights, West Jordan, Pleasant Grove, Provo, Spanish Fork, Lehi, Draper, Saratoga Springs, Murray, American Fork and Springville. So, cast a wide net,” Ashe said. “They all came back, actually, with an average wage for city manager or city administrator of $208,293, and their maximum range average was $237,747.”

Matt Brower, Heber City’s manager, was making $197,879 annually.

According to a Heber City staff report, that put him 5.73% below comparable positions in surrounding areas.

“To stay competitive and ensure fair compensation, an increase in the city manager’s salary is recommended,” the document stated.

Brower has been with Heber City for six years, and Ashe recommended the council increase his base pay to at least match the surrounding average.

“I’m not opposed to this. I think you’ve done a good job,” Councilor Mike Johnston said. 

His peers agreed, though Councilor Yvonne Barney wanted to wait until the next beginning of a fiscal year to work the change into the budget rather than using current surplus funds.

“I’m not saying no to the amount, I’m just saying I would prefer to do it the right way and wait until we have the next discussion and for the next budget,” she said. “That would be my recommendation going forward.”

The new fiscal year just began July 1.

“I think Matt does a great job,” Councilor Aaron Cheatwood said. “I know if we’d had this detail a couple of months ago when we had budgets, we would have talked about it then. We didn’t. We do now, and I am not willing to look at that number and see those ranges and look at those averages and then say, ‘Matt, we value you, but not at average for the next year.’ That doesn’t make any sense.”

He wanted to make the change more quickly.

“Matt goes to bat for his staff every single year on what we pay them, and he’s never once talked about what we pay him,” Councilor Scott Phillips said. “As we can see, his pay has dropped behind where it should be. And everything we discuss in meetings is because of the vision he’s brought to the city.”

He talked about Brower’s push for Heber City’s downtown revitalization and his focus on the community’s long-term plans.

“I would definitely support putting this into action now,” he added. 

Brower didn’t stop batting — or perhaps quarterbacking — for his employees even as his own salary was up for discussion, interrupting Cheatwood mid-motion.

“I’m a great football fan, and quarterbacks can’t perform without great running backs and great receivers in a line that will protect them,” he said. “If you are going to increase my salary, what I’d like you to do is just give me half of it, and let me take the other half and share it between my lead team as a way of me thanking them.”

“There’s the Matt we all know,” Barney said. “I like that idea.”

Phillips motioned to raise his salary the full $11,000 suggested and also advocate $7,500 to his “A team.”

As long as their performance doesn’t disqualify them, each department head will get a $500 annual raise starting the first pay period in October. At the same time, Brower’s new salary will go into effect.

The post Heber City raises manager salary appeared first on Park Record.

In the wake of three teenage girls being hospitalized after an e-bike accident Aug. 26 on Main Street, Midway’s city council this week took up the possibility of tighter restrictions.

“We were scheduled to talk about this before the accident happened last week. I think that accident just kind of brought it to the forefront,” city planner Katie Villani said. 

She informed councilors that while they don’t have the power to lift restrictions the state has already placed on the somewhat newly popular form of transportation, they can vote to add more rules that would apply to Midway specifically. The conversation didn’t revolve around any specific ordinance but rather was a chance for councilors to guide staff on what new codes they would like to see.

While explaining the different classifications and state regulations on e-bikes, city planner Katie Villani pointed out to the council that one state code provision — a rule requiring that all motorized vehicle passengers only use designated seats — could have potentially mitigated the recent accident if it were applied to e-bikes and appropriately followed.

As an example of a restriction they could set, she said the City Council could create that e-bike restriction to match what’s expected of other vehicle operators carrying passengers in Midway.

“We’re looking for guidance,” she said.

Jeff Drury didn’t skip a beat to offer his suggestions.

“If you’re under 18 and it’s got a motor, you’ve got to wear a helmet, I don’t care where it is. If you’re on a road, or a bike path that is connected to a road, you have to have a learner’s permit or a driver’s license. If it has a motor, you’ve got to understand the rules of the road. If you are on a sidewalk or any other path in the city, something that has a motor, you’ve got to be 14, you’ve got to be wearing a helmet” he said. “Boom, we’re done.”

Other councilors largely agreed, though Mayor Celeste Johnson said she didn’t want e-bikes on the sidewalk.

“I would say that the state’s pretty close to where I would start,” Councilor JC Simonsen said. “The biggest problem we have is we can’t enforce anything really right now. The mayor has tried telling them. … But we do need to enforce it.”

He wasn’t sure much more than the state’s requirements were necessary.

“The only other thing I think we could discuss would be a speed limit thing for an e-bike bike,” he said. “I’m not sure where to start with that. I mean, a pedal bike can go pretty fast too. Really, at the end of the day, all of this is a little bit about maturity.”

He said he’s glad e-bikes can help people get out and exercise and doesn’t want to stop their enjoyment. Because of that, he was hesitant to set age restrictions like Park City did when the community’s leaders decided only people ages 65 and up can use an e-bike on sidewalks and natural surface trails.

Drury said the issues he’s seen have come from riders under 14 who don’t understand how roads work and don’t have the judgment to make safe choices.

Some councilors wondered if a speed limit on e-bikes could be helpful, but Councilor Craig Simmons doubted it would be effective.

“You’re not going to control their speed,” he said. 

He mentioned how riders had ignored people trying to restrict their e-bike use in the past.

Other councilors thought a legal regulation tied to a possible fine would be enough to get people to tap their brakes.

A speed limit, Villani said, could be used as an enforcement tool for riders who are riding at unsafe speeds.

Johnson said she’s seen young kids on a trail who have caused walkers or runners to jump out of their path because they haven’t been able to control their e-bikes. An age limit is critical, she said.

“And, you can’t use your motorized thing to go through the grass,” she said. “It’s chewing up our parks. … You’ve got to stay on the designated trail.”

The post Midway City Council considers e-bike regulations appeared first on Park Record.

The new high school that Wasatch County School District is constructing is well underway to being complete and, according to district officials, is on track to be finished in time to open for fall 2026.

Compared to an earlier look at the building given to representatives from different media groups in late last year, a similar tour taken with district officials last week showed that what had resembled a group of organized foundations last winter has now been solidified into the barebones of the current Wasatch High School.

An orchestra pit in the ground has been built into an auditorium, concretes and rebar have become a building and sections of the site have been worked into classrooms, shops and lecture halls within the last several months. Several components still remain to be finished — the auditorium, while recognizable, still needs a roof — but it’s coming along. And, according to Kirsta Albert, the district’s public information officer, it’s doing so within its anticipated timeline of completion and still expected to open in time for the 2026-27 school year. 

According to Superintendent Paul Sweat, the building’s resemblance to Wasatch County High School is no coincidence. He explained the same architectural design is being used, though with differences that came at the behest of teachers and other school staff who were given the opportunity to bend the district’s ear about things they think could improve.

That process gave birth to the current Wasatch High School design, which he said has been used by three other school districts around the state.

“Seventy percent of this building is patterned after the current Wasatch High. It’s the same architect, which helped us a lot,” he said. “Some of the components have been moved around. There’s a few things we changed, and we learned something living there for 14 years, some things that needed to change and that we wanted to change.” 

Still, he emphasized that just as the district was willing to tear a page from its book, it was willing to stick with the aspects of its buildings that had proved faithful to their students’ needs. Walking around the new site, he looked at sections of the building and recalled how similar they were to Wasatch County’s old high school, one he worked at as principal that’s been torn down for years.

One aspect of construction within the district that he pointed out was officials’ willingness to listen to teachers and principals rather than only administrators and final decision-makers.

“The standard in most districts is any time you let the principal and the teachers get involved, it just adds money to the process and drags it down,” he said. “We spent a lot of time with (Architect Curtis Livingston) at the old high school on 6th South talking about these types of issues.”

In the new school’s shop, he pointed out long bays built into the room’s walls. These, he explained, came from the district being willing to listen to their employees when the district went to construct Wasatch High School.

He said teachers came to the district with concerns that their shop material would sometimes arrive 40 feet long, making it impossible to haul it through hallways into the shop without getting stuck around corners.

“This was designed so it would come right off the truck,” Sweat said. “Then as it comes into the shop, it’s cut to order for whatever project it’s being made for.”

There are even differences between the two high schools. One, for example, is the new school’s focus on its common area and making sure the school is centralized. With the exception of classes that will be held at the school’s separate athletic center, most parts of the school will be built around the large centralized area. The lunch room itself will also serve as an overflow to the commons to allow room for more students.

“That’s one of the great things about plans,” Sweat said. “It’s made to draw the kids back to the center of the school at every pastime. So the kids come in, it’s easier to keep an eye on them and supervise them. And as big a campus as that is, you can pop back into the commons area and then go in any direction from there. It’s pretty functional that way.” 

Another change students and their families will see at the new high school will hopefully save some parents from having to pick a favorite child when the day comes that their different basketball games or wrestling matches happen on different courts at the same time in the athletic center’s auxiliary gyms.

The courts will be positioned so spectators can get a view of both gyms simultaneously.

“That’s one thing we did a little differently,” Sweat said. Instead of having two auxiliary gyms totally separate, there would be two in here, and you can sit on the bleachers and see both gyms,” Sweat said. “We have a lot of families that will have a girl playing on the JV team and maybe a freshman playing on the boy’s team, and they might be playing at the same time in two different gyms over at the other school.”

The district began construction on the high school in May 2023. According to an analysis released last year by the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, Wasatch County is expected to grow rapidly in the coming decades while other areas of the state are expected to stagnate or even shrink in student enrollment.

Wasatch County’s enrollment is predicted to increase by about 4,000 students, and the new high school is just one of the many projects on the district’s master plan list. 

The post New Wasatch County high school construction continues appeared first on Park Record.

In November, a group of Wasatch County property taxpayers filed a lawsuit against county assessor Todd Griffin, deputy attorney Jon Woodard, the county itself and several members of the Utah State Tax Commission alleging that Griffin had failed to appropriately assess all properties in 2022.

His mistakes, the lawsuit claimed, led to 34% of property taxpayers getting a reduction while 59% faced a large increase. Meanwhile, the state tax commission failed to fulfill its oversight responsibilities.

On Aug. 22, Utah Judge Anthony Howell released court documents that indicate the case may be merited.

He denied the county and tax commissions’ motions to dismiss with only one exception, stating that one of the plaintiff’s claims for relief that would see Griffin unseated from his current position would be “best presented to the presiding judge in a separate document rather than a claim for relief in the Amended Petition.”

If the plaintiffs want to continue their attempts at Griffin’s removal, the court document continues, they “should submit to the presiding judge, Hon. Kraig Powell, an accusation specifically Mentioning Utah Code § 77-6-1, et seq.”

Whether or not plaintiffs pursue that legal option, Griffin’s term in office is quickly approaching its end as he was eliminated in the primary election. Currently, Bob Adams is the lone candidate for assessor.

The other parts of the motion to dismiss the lawsuit, however, were denied, leaving the state tax commission, the county and Griffin on the hook for the issue raised by the group of concerned taxpayers.

The court found other claims for relief center on having “Griffin, the County, and the Tax Commission Respondents perform their statutory duties which they are alleged to have failed to perform.”

A findings and conclusions document shows Howell weighed that — if the allegations brought forth in the lawsuit are found to be accurate — if would mean Griffin failed to fulfill his duty to update property values yearly as is required in state code.

In the same vein, since the state tax commission is responsible for certifying a county assessor’s appraisal technique and taking corrective action if assessors’ appraisal efforts fall short, they remain on the receiving end of the legal complaint.

In the conclusions made under “Findings of Fact,” the document states that about 8,869 properties in Wasatch County were not reassessed in 2022 while many other properties “received significant increases in assessed value and tax.”

“Wasatch County reappraised only around 59% of the properties in the county for the 2022 taxes,” the court document says. “Properties that were reappraised had an average market value increase of roughly 87% for improved properties and 284% for unimproved properties.”

According to the findings about a third of the county’s properties were assessed based on their 2021 values, and about a third of them maintained the same 2021 values.

“Because of the lack of the county-wide appraisal, the assessed values of Wasatch County are largely undercalculated. An inequitable tax was therefore applied because certain properties were taxed based upon higher assessments and other properties were taxed based upon stale and dated assessments,” the document states. “This places a higher tax burden on property owners who had their property assessed in 2022.”  

And, “The Utah State Tax Commission has failed to fulfill its oversight obligations and has failed and refused to correct the foregoing errors, and others, existing in Wasatch County with respect to the assessment of property taxes.”

The tax commission respondents, the document specifies, acknowledged the complaints and shortcomings but did not notify the Utah State Auditor as they were mandated by statute.

According to a press release from Bill Quapp, one of the plaintiffs, the lawsuit will now enter a discovery phase.

“The taxpayer plaintiffs will continue to ensure that the County Assessor and Tax Commission fulfill their obligations,” the release states.  

The post Property tax lawsuit against Wasatch County and state tax commission officials continues appeared first on Park Record.

It was about five years ago when — after deciding that Salt Lake City’s pride festival had grown too commercialized for his liking — Heber City local Joshua Knight decided to forgo the event and host a weekend celebration in his own backyard.

“My brother does drag in Salt Lake,” he said. “We kind of had this harebrained idea while he was up here. I’m like, ‘Why don’t you bring your drag stuff up, perform a little bit, and we’ll have a great time along with Pride. And afterwards, I think a couple of people shoved money in his décolletage, his cleavage.”

Thus, the idea for Heber Valley’s annual Not Your Mama’s Backyard Drag show.

The first formal show was in 2021, when Knight’s brother returned to the valley with several of his friends and fellow queens. 

“We had just broken free from COVID, and we had 107 people in the backyard. My neighbor had the food truck, we had Porta Potties, we had the whole nine yards,” Knight said.

He said the had a “rinky-dink” setting that included lighting he bought from Amazon, a rented sound machine, and a back porch with black sheets that served as curtains.

“We sold tickets on Venmo, and we donated the money in the first year to the Encircle House here in Heber,” Knight said.

The next year, they sold out of tickets, and the show has only gotten bigger.

Now they hold the event in his other brother’s house in Daniel, and attendance is only growing. This year, they had 365 attendees.

Though he was still crunching some numbers, he estimated the event had raised over $10,000 for the Cavalier Crazy Rescue in Salt Lake — where he got his furry companion, Walter —  and The Horse of Many Colors, a nonprofit group supporting cancer patients and their loved ones. 

Despite the positivity Knight aims to promote, he acknowledged it hasn’t always been easy to find community support for his drag show, or even to live as a gay man in Heber City.

The first two years he held the event, he said it went without a hitch.

He told neighbors there might be some attendees parking on the street, and he asked people not to block driveways.

Last year, they got a dozen complaints.

“My brother got calls from Daniel township’s mayor saying that there had been complaints, emails, phone calls,” Knight said.

He doesn’t know who filed the grievances. He doesn’t want to.

“Their complaint was parking. We all know it wasn’t about parking. I will put my neck on the line about that,” he said. “We took care of everything we needed to with the city and the county.”

As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, it wasn’t the first time he’s felt pushback because of who he is in Heber City.

“We were tiny growing up. … I was born in 1982, was educated here in the public school system in Wasatch County, and I was bullied, teased,” he said. “There wasn’t a day that went by walking down the high school hallway that I wasn’t called a fag or a queer or a homo. And it definitely opened up my eyes to a different aspect of my community where hate could lie in a place where everyone professes to be religious and Christ-like, and it definitely opened my eyes to the true meaning of what it means to be an active member of the community.”

On a religious note, he added, it taught him something further about what it really means to be Christ-like as people who preached divine peace on Sundays made his life hell between school classes.

“I didn’t come out until I was 32. I was scared. I owned a small business here in town, I just bought a home. My mom had passed away a couple years prior,” he said.

When his brother came out, it helped. But it still took him seven more years.

Though he still faces slurs today, it’s a less common occurrence, and he said it’s completely different from Heber City in the ’80s and ’90s.

Still, he sees first hand the mountains left to climb.

Just this year, someone has twice ripped down the Pride flag that hangs next to the Stars and Stripes in front of Knight’s home and business, Five Penny Floral.

The hateful act won’t deter him.

“I grew up on the back of a horse. I tried to play the part. I tried to do the role. In my late 20s and early 30s, I said, ‘I’m not doing this anymore.’ I needed to live my authenticity and be who I am,” he said. “I’ve never looked back.”

He’s working to be a part of a welcoming community he didn’t have growing up, one he doesn’t think Heber City was ready to provide back when he was young. It takes generations to break cycles of harmful ideologies, he explained, and many that target members of the LGBTQ+ community are still alive and well.

With his drag shows, he hopes to change that, to show the community that it’s “an expression of elevated art.”

“They say we’re groomers. They say that we have issues. They say that we’re pedophiles,” he said. “Most of us have been victims to a pedophile or a predator. … We are capable of amazing and incredible things. We love. We give back to our communities. We are about love and compassion.”

He said he giggles when people say drag performers are grooming kids. For his nieces, he explained, the drag community has been a way to promote inclusion.

Drag queens, he said, don’t make bank-breaking salaries through their performances. What they have to gain is expressing themselves, things they’ve had to hold inside.  

“They do it because they’re passionate about it, and they do it for the sisterhood, and they do it for somewhere that 9-year-old boy,” he said of queens. “It’s giving that 9-year-old boy hope that there’s a beautiful world out there, that that 9-year-old boy has a home and has a place to be creative and to express and to be who they want to be.”

The pride flag still hangs from Knight’s porch, and he’s still an active member of the community. He plans to continue to make the drag show even bigger in future years. 

“Drag has been around for centuries. It has taken different shapes, different forms. We have all been entertained: ‘Bosom Buddies,’ ‘Mrs. Doubtfire,’ Klinger off of ‘Mash,’ ‘Tootsie’ by Dustin Hoffman,” Knight said. “To anyone who doesn’t understand, open your eyes. … I’m a proud member of this community, so is my brother, and so are many, many of my friends and supporters and clients. We’re not going anywhere. We will continue to get better. We will continue to raise more money for causes that are near and dear to our hearts.

“To anyone who doesn’t understand, you’re not going to lose a recommend, you’re not going to lose friends over coming to a show. We are about love, we are about inclusion, we are about hope. We are about hope that your children will not have to go through what we had to go through with chills saying that your friend has taken their own life.” 

The post Heber City local raises $10,000 for charities with Not Your Mama’s Backyard Drag appeared first on Park Record.

Before the Park City School Board’s split vote last week to renew Superintendent Jill Gildea’s contract for two more years, she emerged as the only finalist for another job in Colorado.

It’s a question whether the board knew this, with potential contractual implications.

Colorado Early Colleges announced Tuesday that its board on Aug. 16 chose Gildea as the only remaining candidate for chief executive officer five days before a Park City board majority of members who dropped their reelection campaigns pushed through the controversial renewal on a 3-2 vote, with the only incumbents who will be on the board next year opposing.

School board President Andrew Caplan did not answer a question about whether the board knew Gildea had applied for other work. A stipulation in her 2023 contract appears to require she notify the board if she decides to seek other employment.

Instead he said Gildea “has been personally attacked by community members including yourself and your media colleagues. I hope that in your career you are never publicly vilified in the way she has been.”

He wrote in what he said was the full board’s comment: “Jill Gildea has served the children and community of Park City with distinction for six years. If she chooses to pursue employment elsewhere, the board wishes her the best of luck and thanks for her exemplary service to our schools.”

He declined to answer when asked if Gildea had told him or other board members about her search for other employment. The contract she signed in 2023 included a clause that says “Superintendent shall promptly notify the board should she elect to apply for other employment.” It’s in section 16 F, a paragraph largely devoted to what would happen if Gildea unilaterally chose to terminate her contract. The document is not readily clear whether the requirement is also true if the agreement ends through mutual agreement.

“I have made my statement,” Caplan said. “We will not be commenting further on personnel matters.”

When she voted to renew Gildea’s contract, board member Anne Peters said she did so with the consideration that the decision could save the district from a difficult search for a new superintendent. The new school board would have until Feb. 5, 2025, to notify Gildea if it did not wish to renew her contract, which would have elapsed that summer.    

Colorado Early Colleges’ website post includes Gildea’s resume, answers to a series of questions, and a cover letter, which is dated June 19. 

It was only a day later that Caplan first drew public pushback that started the months-long community conversation about the contract renewal when he announced that the board intended to renew her contract in August — while the departing majority could — in an interview June 20 on KPCW’s “Local News Hour.”

Other board members said he made the announcement without first consulting them.

Shortly after, community members started a Change.org petition asking the board to hold off on the decision until next year.

Board members Caplan, Peters and Wendy Crossland voted to renew the contract. All three of them began the year intending to run for another term in their positions, and all three of them dropped out of their reelection bids — Caplan and Crossland within a week of each other in May, and Peters in July.

Board members Meredith Reed and Nick Hill — who will remain on the board in 2025 — voted against the renewal, stating they wanted to wait until next year. Before the vote, all but one of the candidates for next year’s board also publicly spoke in hopes the board would leave the decision to them.  

In Gildea’s new contract, which is dated Aug. 24 with her signature, there are portions that allow her to leave the agreement either through retirement, mutual agreement with the district, or if she “believes she can no longer give effective leadership to the district.”

The contract also dictates that she “agrees to give the district not less than 30 days advance written notice of her election to terminate employment.”

Otherwise, she could have to pay the district a $2,000 penalty for early termination.

Gildea has not yet responded to questions about her potential new job or if she informed the board that she was applying for new positions.

Colorado Early Colleges is a network of public charter schools in Colorado.

The post Park City schools chief named as lone candidate for Colorado position appeared first on Park Record.

What will happen to Heber Valley if governments and locals don’t pay serious attention to the community’s affordable housing crisis?

According to Mountainlands Community Housing Trust Executive Director Jason Glidden, it could be the same thing that’s happened in other places where workers, public servants and other everyday employees can’t afford to live — places like Jackson Hole.

“They have probably the most expensive homes per capita. You’re driving out that local workforce, which now have to live an hour away, commute in an hour away,” he said. “This spring, they had their highway washout through the pass between Driggs, Idaho, which is one of the major places where the workforce lives, and Jackson.”

This left workers unable to get to their jobs, or at least unable to get there without adding an extra hour and a half to their commute times.

“What does that do to a local economy?” Glidden said. “But more important to me, who is going to be the next community leaders? Who are going to be the next nonprofit leaders? Teachers? Public safety officials? If you don’t give them the opportunity, and they can’t even live close to here, they’ll find jobs closer to where they live, and eventually, you’re not going to have that workforce to support a thriving community.”

Mountainlands Community Housing Trust recently commissioned a study on housing throughout the Wasatch Back, factors that have contributed to the current situation as well as economic disadvantages communities face relying on commuters to keep the lights on. Presenters shared their findings with members of Wasatch County’s community Monday evening. 

The study — which composited data for both Wasatch and Summit Counties — showed that, since 2010, total employment has increased by 47.6%, and 70% of that growth is commuters.

The area has also become significantly more rich. Since 2010, households making $75,000 or less have decreased by 17%; in that same time, households making at least $200,000 have increased by 291%.

The study also pointed out the economic benefits that will befall the community if it invests in affordable housing.

The study looked at what would happen if the community built 100 homes, as well as if each of those homes’ residents worked 1.73 jobs and sent 0.4 children to school.

Through a variety of factors — including volunteer work, commute hours saved, taxes and, most significantly, positions filled — the study found that spending money on more rental units would bring a 5.85 yield on investment, meaning $100,000 of community money contributed toward rental multifamily units would result in about $585,000. For that same return to be made on owned single-family units, the community would need to invest $400,000.

Though Summit and Wasatch Counties may have historically faced different issues when it comes to housing, Glidden said that has changed in recent years.

“A lot of the housing issues started in Park City 30, 40 years ago,” he said. “You didn’t see that maybe so much in the Wasatch back, and as the workforce got pushed out of Park City, they got pushed further into Summit County or down into Wasatch County. Demand started to increase. It’s like squeezing a balloon; it’s going to expand somewhere.”

As workers spread to find homes, so did housing affordability issues. First, the problem grew throughout more rural areas of Summit County. Now, they’re in Wasatch County as well.

“Home prices have rocketed up in Wasatch County,” Glidden said. “You are looking at very similar demographics. Maybe not to the scale of Park City yet, but it’s not far behind.”

If it’s hard for you to believe that the rural, once-primarily agricultural Wasatch County’s issues align with an upper-end ski town’s, you’re not alone.

When Wasatch County Councilor Kendall Crittenden — who was in the audience — said 60-70% of the community’s homes are second units, there were audible murmurings and whispers throughout the room.

Scott House, a member of the Park City Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitors Bureau, was discussing a question he’d heard from a community member who wondered if communities could benefit from more second home owners.

Andrew Knudsen, a member of the firm that performed the study, said the issue with second homes — and the reason why communities can’t rely on them despite their higher tax rates — is because they don’t regularly contribute to local retail, thus not regularly contributing to local retail sales tax.

“It’s a fallacy to think that the easy way out is to cater to second home owners,” Knudsen said.

They could potentially spend less and require just as much from the community, Knudsen said, and that’s before even considering the social fabric and having homeowners who aren’t full-time members of the community.

What can help solve the community’s housing problem, according to Glidden, are locals who are willing to become housing advocates, people who are willing to support affordable housing projects not only in their county or town, but in their neighborhood.

“There’s this ongoing notion of NIMBYism — not in my back yard,” he said. “We need to have more YIMBYs — yes in my backyard. We need more people that are going to come out and talk about the importance of affordable housing. And that doesn’t mean you have to come and speak at a public meeting. Maybe you write a letter to your elected officials or to your local newspapers or media outlets to say this is important to us.”

He added that people can volunteer for Habitats for Humanity or Mountainlands Community Housing Trust.

“We need more people to come in and say, yes, this is the right place,” he said. “We need this if we want to continue to be a thriving community that’s vibrant and full of community members.”

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While schools across the state and country struggle to get students up to the standards they were meeting before the COVID-19 pandemic, Wasatch County School District and Park City School District have managed to not only make up lost ground but also surpass their 2019 standings.

The Utah State Board of Education released its 2024 student proficiency data based on two standardized tests: the Readiness Improvement Success Empowerment given to third-eighth graders and the Utah Aspire Plus administered to students in grades nine and 10.  

In 2019 — the school year before the COVID-19 pandemic — students’ test scores throughout the state showed that 47% were proficient in English language arts, 45% in mathematics and 46.6% in science. 

In 2021 — the year after the worst of the pandemic and the effects it had on schools and students — had passed, its effects on education were noticeable. The proficiency rates had dropped to 43.3%, 39.2% and 44.1%, respectively.

While Park City School District and Wasatch County School District stayed a cut above average both before and after the pandemic, neither community was immune to the proficiency-dropping effects the vast majority of districts throughout the state and country faced. 

In 2019, Park City’s students tested to be 54.3% proficient in English language arts, 50.5% in math and 54.1% in science. In 2021, those numbers changed — most notably math proficiency — to 54.5%, 46% and 53.3%, respectively.

In neighboring Wasatch County, students’ 2019 test scores scored proficiencies of 51.6% in English language arts, 46.2% in math and 49.8% in science. In 2021, those proficiency rates became 50.4%, 45.7% and 44.4%.

Regardless of the pandemic, both of the largest districts in the Wasatch Back also continue to improve their proficiency numbers.

According to the newest reports, Park City’s tests taken in 2024 show 61.8% of students were proficient in English language arts, 56.2% in math and 65.5% in science.

In Wasatch, test results showed students were 59.3% sufficient in English language arts, 56.7% in math and 55% in science. 

Despite obvious adjustments that the district had to make due to the pandemic, Wasatch County Superintendent Paul Sweat attributed the district’s success in the situation to using technology efficiently, implementing as few changes as possible and keeping kids in school buildings when possible.

Similarly, Park City officials also worked to maintain in-person learning as much as possible.

The post Park City and Wasatch County schools continue upward after pandemic bounce back appeared first on Park Record.

Grand Hyatt Deer Valley — the large building that looms over U.S. Route 189 across from Jordanelle State Park — is on track to open its doors to guests in November.

Extell Executive Vice President Kurt Krieg spoke about the project — and where his company will next spend its time within Utah’s Military Installation Development Authority — during Thursday morning board meeting.

“Everything at the end is always a push, but we’re working through with Wasatch County MIDA staff — so the building department, the fire department and the (Jordanelle Special Service District) — and are very appreciative of those efforts,” he said. “We have sold 100% of the project. So the 55 private residences are all contracted and will start to close in October.”

Further, he said, Extell has scheduled punch walks for September, and the first three stories of the hotel have been turned over to an operator.

“Most importantly,” Krieg said. “The military concierge and lounge is on track to being completed in October, which is a big initiative.”

The large development is the result of collaboration between Wasatch County, MIDA and private developers.

MIDA — a governmental body made up of appointed officials — exists in Utah to fulfill projects with military incentives and promote economic development. It’s been around since 2007, when it was first formed to help develop the Falcon Hill National Aerospace Research Park at Hill Airforce Base after state officials wanted to cement the military location’s importance in the eyes of the federal government.

Over a decade later, the group made an agreement with Wasatch County to declare undeveloped land near the Jordanelle a military recreation facility, a place where service members can take their families to enjoy activities at reduced prices.

Sticking with that part of their mission, 100 of Deer Valley Grand Hyatt’s 387 rooms will be available to active military service members and veterans who served for at least 20 years before their retirement. 

One tool that MIDA uses to fund its development projects is tax increment financing from partnering governments. In the case of its project area near Jordanelle, MIDA has partnered with Wasatch County, Wasatch County School District and smaller taxing entities in the area.

Those entities’ tax revenue within the project area is paused; any increase is split between them and MIDA, with MIDA receiving 75% in most cases. The agreements last for 40 years.

With Grand Hyatt Deer Valley quickly approaching its opening, Krieg said the company’s construction crews are starting to look toward other hotels slated to go up in the area.

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